Hillcrest Veterans Memorial

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Hillcrest Veterans Square is a public park located in Fresh Meadows, Queens, New York City. Although it’s designated as a “Square,” it is a triangle-shaped public park that contains a monument erected by Hillcrest Post No. 1078 of the American Legion. In 2005, the park’s original monument to the veterans was replaced by a new design with more detail yet included a plaque from the original monument along with excerpts from the poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” by Moina Michael. Its mention of the poppies growing in Flanders Fields inspired the use of this flower as a symbol of remembrance for those who fought in the First World War. In addition to the monument, Hillcrest Veterans Square contains a flagpole and a red maple tree.

Images

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Plaque reads:

IN HONOR OF THE

MEN WHO SERVED IN DEFENSE

OF OUR COUNTRY

AND IN SACRED MEMORY OF

THOSE WHO MADE

THE SUPREME SACRIFCE

The Inscription on the monument itself reads:

WE SHALL KEEP THE FAITH

WE CHERISH, TOO, THE POPPY RED

THAT GROWS ON FIELDS WHERE VALOR LED;

IT SEEMS TO SIGNAL TO THE SKIES

THAT BLOOD OF HEROES NEVER DIES,

OF THE FLOWER THAT BLOOMS ABOVE THE HEAD

IN FLANDERS FIELD

MOINA MICHAEL

NOVEMBER 1918

Moina Michael was a professor teaching at the University of Georgia in 1917, the year the United States entered World War I. Michael was in Europe during the early and mid-summer of 1914 and when war broke out in August, she travelled to Rome to try and return to the United States. While there, she helped 12,000 American tourists return home, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. She returned to the United States on the RMS Carpathia (the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic) and resumed teaching.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillcrest_Veterans_Square

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hillcrest-veterans-square

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Moina%20Michael

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Jonathan Roberts (November 9, 2017)

Stevan Roberts (November 9, 2017)